Over Rs1.1trn tax target for 2Q a big challenge

SOHAIL SARFRAZ

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has informed Finance Minister Asad Umar that the tax machinery is facing a big challenge to achieve ambitious revenue collection target of Rs 1,115 billion in the second quarter (October-December) of 2018-19.

Sources told Business Recorder here on Thursday that the assigned revised annual revenue target of Rs 4,398 billion for 2018-19 was discussed during the last visit of Asad Umar to the FBR House.

The FBR has informed the finance minister that the budget for the second quarter (October-December) of 2018-19 has been set at Rs 1,100 billion. The FBR has suffered shortfall of Rs 15 billion during the first quarter (July-September) of 2018-19. The tax projections of Rs 1,100 billion for second quarter plus shortfall of Rs 15 billion in the first quarter of 2018-19 would require FBR to collect Rs 1,115 billion during the second quarter (October-December) of 2018-19.

Breakup of revenue collection target for second quarter of 2018-19 revealed that the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) has to collect Rs 930 billion and Customs is required to collect Rs 185 billion during the second quarter (October-December) of 2018-19.

The FBR has provisionally collected over Rs 836 billion during the first quarter (July-September) of 2018-19 against assigned revised revenue target of Rs 851 billion during first quarter, reflecting a shortfall of Rs 15 billion.

According to the FBR, the FBR during first quarter  of the current financial year recorded a provisional net revenue collection of over Rs 836 billion as against Rs 766 billion collected during the same period of the previous fiscal year, including collection  on account of book adjustments. The assigned revised revenue target for the first quarter is Rs 851 billion.

The increase of Rs 70 billion from the corresponding period of previous financial year is despite the fact that relief measures, introduced through Finance Act, 2018, have adversely affected the revenue collection in the first quarter.  The provisional collection for the month of September 2018 stands at Rs 323 billion excluding collection on account of book adjustments. The figures of collection received in the treasuries of the remote areas may further swell the revenue figures. The revenue collection trend during the first quarter of the financial year augurs well for the efforts of FBR towards achievement of the assigned revised annual revenue target of Rs 4,398 billion, the FBR added.